U.S. patent number 5,255,808 [Application Number 07/936,003] was granted by the patent office on 1993-10-26 for foldable bottle.
This patent grant is currently assigned to Supermatic Kunststoff AG. Invention is credited to Viktor Tobler.
United States Patent |
5,255,808 |
Tobler |
October 26, 1993 |
Foldable bottle
Abstract
In a foldable bottle, two lines of the outer surface located
opposite one another are provided as folding lines. Each of these
folding lines intersects a bead-type lower folding line, running
round transversely to the folding line, at a point of intersection,
and intersects a bead-type upper folding line, running round
transversely to the folding line, at a point of intersection. Below
the point of intersection, each folding line branches into two
bead-type folding lines which are arranged in a V-shape and
continue from the lower portion of the bottle down to the bottom
surface. Above the point of intersection, each folding line
branches into two bead-type folding lines which are arranged in a
V-shape and extend in the upper portion of the bottle up to the top
surface. When the outer surface is folded flat between the folding
lines to form a two-ply layer, the upper portion an the lower
portion can be folded flat simultaneously on the principle of a
folding bottom, as with paper bags. Subsequently, the upper and
lower portions can be folded over through 90.degree. and placed
against the other bottle parts which have been folded flat.
Inventors: |
Tobler; Viktor (Oberdurnten,
CH) |
Assignee: |
Supermatic Kunststoff AG
(Uster, CH)
|
Family
ID: |
4206589 |
Appl.
No.: |
07/936,003 |
Filed: |
August 27, 1992 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
220/6; 206/218;
215/11.3; 215/383; 215/900; 220/666; D9/558 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65D
1/0292 (20130101); Y10S 215/90 (20130101) |
Current International
Class: |
B65D
1/02 (20060101); B65D 033/02 () |
Field of
Search: |
;220/6,666 ;215/1C,11.3
;206/218 |
References Cited
[Referenced By]
U.S. Patent Documents
Foreign Patent Documents
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
408929 |
|
Jun 1990 |
|
EP |
|
1356549 |
|
Apr 1963 |
|
FR |
|
865062 |
|
Apr 1961 |
|
GB |
|
Primary Examiner: Moy; Joseph M.
Attorney, Agent or Firm: Oblon, Spivak, McClelland, Maier
& Neustadt
Claims
What is claimed as new and desired to be secured by Letters Patent
of the United States is:
1. A foldable bottle having a closable pouring part, which bottle
retains its shape during filling and during removal of the
contents, having longitudinally extending folding lines provided in
the outer surfaces of the bottle for the purpose of pressing the
bottle substantially flat in an empty state, which comprises:
an at least substantially flat bottom surface, at least an edge
region of which forms a standing surface;
a top surface having a closable pouring part;
an upper portion which is bounded by a folding line running
transversely to the folding lines of the outer surface and which
contains the top surface with the pouring part;
a lower portion which is bounded by a folding line running
transversely to the folding lines of the outer surface and which
contains the bottom surface;
an outer surface which forms a central portion which connects the
upper portion to the lower portion and which has an outer surface
folding line for the central portion; wherein a first pair of
folding lines, each of which include a bead curved outward, are
provided which branch substantially in a V-shape for being folded
outwardly and extend from the folding line running transversely to
the folding lines of the outer surface down to the bottom of the
lower portion;
a second pair of folding lines, each of which include a bead curved
outwardly, are provided which branch substantially in a V-shape for
being folded outwardly and extend from the folding line running
transversely to the folding lines of the outer surface up to the
top surface of the upper portion; and
the first and second pair of folding lines have a branching point
thereof in each case on the folding line for the outer surface of
the central portion, such that the upper portion and the lower
portion as well as the outer surface of the central portion may be
folded flat along said folding lines of the outer surface and be
folded over into a common plane.
2. The bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein at least the outer
surface of the central portion has a cross sectional shape which is
one of a substantially rectangular shape, circular shape,
rectangular shape, oval shape, square shape, and round shape, and
wherein the lower portion is tapered toward the bottom surface and
the upper portion is tapered toward the top surface.
3. The bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer surface has,
spaced from the bottom surface, said lower portion folding line
running round parallel to said bottom surface, and, spaced from the
top surface, said upper portion folding line running round parallel
to the lower portion folding line for folding inward and, in
addition, on diametrically opposite lines of the outer surface of
the bottle, said longitudinally extending folding line are located
so as to be parallel to the mid-axis of the bottle and connect said
first folding line to said second folding line.
4. The bottle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the upper and lower
portion folding lines portion comprise inwardly curved bow shaped
beads for folding inwardly.
5. The bottle as claimed in claim 4, wherein said inwardly curved
and outwardly curved beads are symmetrical with respect to a
longitudinal central surface thereof, and wherein said beads have a
reduced wall thickness in transition regions to one of an adjoining
outer surface and a central region of a curve of said beads.
6. The bottle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the outer surface
between the upper portion folding line and the lower portion
folding line comprises means for folding said outer surface flat in
two layers against one another, such that outer surface parts of
said upper portion rests against the top surface and outer surface
parts of the lower portion rests against the bottom surface
simultaneously by folding inward on the upper portion and lower
portion folding lines and wherein the upper portion and lower
portion, upon having been folded flat, include means for folding
folded said upper and lower portions over through 90.degree. onto
the outer surface which has been folded flat in two layers in order
to form a bottle which is folded completely flat.
7. The bottle as claimed in claim 1, which comprises a pouring part
and a peripheral groove located on the pouring part, said groove
including means for holding and guiding the bottle during filling
for the purpose of preventing collapse of the foldable bottle.
8. The bottle as claimed in patent claim 1, wherein a cross section
of a part of the upper portion adjacent to the upper section
folding line and a cross section of a part of the lower portion
adjacent to the lower section folding line project beyond cross
sections of adjacent parts of the central portion, at least on one
part of the periphery, so as to form stops for a cover surrounding
the central portion.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to a foldable bottle having a closable
pouring part.
2. Discussion of the Background
Known bottles of this type are made, for example, of plastic, if
appropriate by blow molding, and serve for containing liquid or
granular substances. With a foldable bottle design, it is possible
for these bottles to be folded flat in an empty state and therefore
take up little space either in waste containers or during
transportation to a filling plant for reuse or to a recycling or
disposal site.
A foldable bottle of this type, known from EP-A-0,408,929, has an
essentially rectangular cross section above its bottom part.
Provided in the bottom part is a recess in the form of an inverted
V, whose upper edge forms a folding edge which extends horizontally
when the bottle is upright. The two ends of this horizontal folding
edge coincide in each case with a folding edge which is vertical
when the bottle is upright and extends on opposite walls of the
bottle so that the empty bottle can be folded into a virtually flat
configuration essentially along the three folding edges. The V-type
recess merges on both sides in rounded transitions transversely to
the horizontal folding edge into two narrow, strip-type standing
surfaces parallel to the horizontal folding line and continues into
two opposite bottle walls which have no folding edges. By means of
this V-type recess, the lowest portion of the bottle is divided
into two compartments which only communicate when the level of the
contents of the bottle is higher than the upper edge of the
recess.
A disadvantage of this bottle consists of the fact that its
stability is very poor, specifically for the following reasons:
even in the filled state, this bottle does not have a flat bottom
surface, but rather only the two parallel strip-type standing
surfaces which merge in a rounded manner into the vertical bottle
walls; as a result, its stability is reduced. In an almost empty
state, it is possible for the bottle contents to be located in only
one of the two compartments of the lower portion of the bottle,
such that the bottle is very unstable. Due to the V-type recess,
the capacity of the bottle is also reduced, with the result being
that such bottle must be taller than a bottle of the same capacity
with a flat bottom, which likewise has a negative effect on
stability.
A further disadvantage of this bottle is to be seen in the fact
that, for completely flat folding, the material has to be creased
in some places by applying pressure because there are not enough
prefabricated folding edges
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The underlying object of the present invention is thus to provide a
bottle of the type mentioned at the beginning which has good
stability during use in a completely and partially filled state
and, in the empty state, can be brought into as flat a form as
possible by simple folding without exerting additional
pressure.
This object is achieved in a bottle of the type mentioned at the
beginning according to the invention by the features of the
descriptive part of claim 1. Further designs and preferred
exemplary embodiments are defined by the descriptive parts of the
dependent patent claims.
The new bottle is distinguished by good stability in both the full
and in the empty state as it has a large standing surface because
at least the outer edge region of the bottom surface serves as a
standing surface. The bottom surface is flat or very slightly
curved upward or inward in its central zone so that the new bottle
is not taller in comparison to another bottle of the same capacity,
which likewise contributes to its stability. It can also easily be
folded into a flat form insofar as a lower bottle part comprising
the bottom region and an upper bottle part comprising the pouring
region can be bent over through 90.degree. along prefabricated
folding lines which are horizontal when the bottle is upright, with
the result being that they come to rest on the bottle walls which
have been folded flat along opposite lines on the outer surface and
therefore lie against one another.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
Further details and advantages emerge from the following
description and the drawings, in which preferred embodiments of the
foldable bottle according to the invention are illustrated purely
by way of example.
FIG. 1 shows a front elevational view of a first embodiment of the
bottle;
FIG. 2 shows a side view of the bottle illustrated in FIG. 1;
FIG. 3 shows a top plan view of the bottle illustrated in FIGS. 1
and 2;
FIG. 4 shows a cross-sectional view of the bottle illustrated in
FIGS. 1 to 3 as taken along line 4--4 in FIG. 1;
FIG. 5 shows cross-sectional view of the bottle illustrated in
FIGS. 1-4 as taken along line 5--5 in FIG. 2;
FIG. 6 shows the bottle illustrated in FIGS. 1-5 prior to
folding;
FIG. 7 shows the bottle illustrated in FIGS. 1-6 after a first
stage of the folding operation;
FIG. 8 shows the bottle illustrated in FIGS. 1-7 after complete
folding;
FIG. 9 shows a side view of a second embodiment of the bottle
according to the present invention;
FIG. 10 shows the bottle illustrated in FIG. 9 in a second side
view perpendicular to the first side view of FIG. 9;
FIG. 11 shows a top plan of the bottle illustrated in FIGS. 9 and
10;
FIG. 12 shows a bottom plan view of bottle illustrated in FIGS. 9
to 11;
FIG. 13 shows a cross-sectional view of the bottle illustrated in
FIGS. 9-12 as taken along line 13--13 in FIG. 9;
FIG. 14 shows cross-sectional view of the bottle illustrated in
FIGS. 9-13 as taken along line 14-14 in FIG. 10;
FIG. 15 shows a front view of a third embodiment of the bottle
according to the invention;
FIG. 16 shows a side view of the bottle illustrated in FIG. 15;
FIG. 17 shows a top plan bottle illustrated in FIGS. 15 and 16;
FIG. 18 shows a bottom view of the bottle illustrated in FIGS.
15-17;
FIG. 19 shows cross-sectional view of the bottle illustrated in
FIGS. 15-18 as taken along line 19--19 in FIG. 15;
FIG. 20 shows a cross-sectional view of the bottle illustrated in
FIGS. 15-19 as along line 20--20 in FIG. 16;
FIG. 21 shows a first side view of a fourth embodiment of the
bottle according to the invention;
FIG. 22 shows a second side view of the bottle illustrated in FIG.
21, this second side view being perpendicular to the first side
view in FIG. 21;
FIG. 23 shows the second side view of the bottle illustrated in
FIG. 22 with a partial covering;
FIG. 24 shows a top plan view of the bottle illustrated in FIGS.
21--23;
FIG. 25 shows a cross-sectional view of the bottle illustrated in
FIGS. 21 to 24 as taken along line 25--25 in FIG. 22;
FIG. 26 shows a bottom view of the bottle illustrated in FIGS. 21
to 25; and
FIG. 27 shows a cross-sectional view of the bottle illustrated in
FIGS. 21 to 26 as taken along line 27--27 in FIG. 24.
DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
According to FIGS. 1 to 8, the first embodiment of the foldable
bottle has an essentially rectangular cross section with narrow
sides curved slightly outward. The body, 1 of the bottle comprises
an outer surface 2 which extends between a bottom surface 3 and an
upper top surface 4 with a pouring part 5 arranged thereon. The
bottom surface 3 is curved very slightly at its central zone toward
the interior of the bottle without the volume of the bottle being
substantially diminished as a result. The standing surface which is
supported on a base when the bottle is upright is formed by the
edge region of the bottom surface. The pouring part 5 is closable
by means of a closure (not illustrated in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2), for
example a screw closure. On the two narrow sides of the bottle at
their center portion, the outer surface 2 has longitudinally
extending lines which are located diametrically opposite one
another and become folding lines 6 when the outer surface 2 is
folded. The folding lines 6 provided on these lines of the outer
surface can be of bead-type construction. The folding lines 6
provided each extend between a folding line 7, running round
horizontally with spacing from the bottom surface 3, and a folding
line 8 running round horizontally with spacing from the top surface
4. The folding lines 7 and 8 thus run transversely to the folding
lines 6 and intersect them. From a lower point 9 of intersection
and an upper point 10 of intersection, like a continuation of the
folding lines 6, but branching in a V-shape, further bead-type
folding lines 11 adjoin the folding lines 6 in the lower portion of
the bottle and further bead-type folding lines 12 adjoin the
folding lines 6 in the upper portion of the bottle. These folding
lines and 12, together with the transversely or horizontally
running folding lines 8 or 9 of bead-type construction, form an
angle of 45.degree. in the present exemplary embodiment, but can
also take on different values.
The cross section illustrated as an extract in FIG. 4 through the
outer surface along the line 5--5 in FIG. 2 shows the form of one
of the folding lines 11 which is formed by a bead 13 curving
outward in a bow shape. The wall thickness is slightly reduced in
the central region of the bead 13. The design of this folding line
11 is such that it has the tendency to yield outwardly when the
bottle is folded or folded flat. The folding lines 13 in the upper
portion of the bottle and, if appropriate, the folding lines 6 in
the central portion are constructed in the same manner.
In contrast to the folding lines 6, and 12, the transversely
running folding lines 7 and 8 have a tendency to yield inwardly
when the bottle is folded, i.e. when the portions of the bottle
bounded by said folding lines are folded over. In FIG. 4, the
folding line 7 is illustrated on a larger scale in a cross
sectional view through the outer surface along the line 4--4 in
FIG. 1. The folding line 7 is formed by a bead 14 curved inward in
a bow shape. The wall thickness is slightly reduced in the
transition regions from the bead 14 to the adjoining outer
surface.
According to FIGS. 7 and 8, due to the different design of the
outwardly yielding folding lines 11 and 12 and, if appropriate
lines 6, on the one hand, and the inwardly yielding folding lines 7
and 8 on the other hand, the bottle can be folded flat and an upper
portion 16 and a lower portion 17 of the bottle 1 can be folded
flat or folded over on the principle of a folding bottom as is
known from paper bags.
When the bottle is folded, in which case it may not be closed,
according to arrows 20 in FIG. 6 pressure is exerted on the
opposite halves of the bottle 1 which have no folding lines.
Additionally, according to FIG. 7, the lower portion 16 and the
upper portion 17 are folded flat. As a result of the upper and
lower folding lines 11 and 12, directed onto the same line of the
outer surface, arranged in a V-shape and of bead-type construction,
the outer surface 2 is folded flat along these lines of the outer
surface or folding lines 6 connecting the branching points 9 and
10. Subsequently, the portions 16 and 17 can be folded or folded
over through 90.degree. according to arrows 21 and 22 in FIG. 7
and, as a result, rest against the outer surface which has been
folded flat. Depending on the elasticity of the bottle material
used, it may be useful to close the folded bottle again so that it
does not automatically unfold again.
On the pouring part 5, below a peripheral collar 25, there is a
groove 26 in which retaining means engage during the automatic
filling of the bottles in order to guide the bottles at the upper
end so that folding of the foldable bottle during the filling
operation is ruled out.
During production of such bottles by blow molding, a central,
transversely running weld 27 is produced in the top part and in the
bottom part. In contrast to the previously known bottles, this weld
does not impair the folding properties in the new bottle, which is
a further advantage of the bottles according to the present
invention.
FIGS. 9 to 14 show another foldable bottle according to the
invention. This bottle has an essentially round cross section.
Otherwise, in particular with respect of its foldability, it is
virtually of the same construction as the bottle illustrated in
FIGS. 1 to 8 and described above.
The round bottle has a body 101, an outer surface 102, a flat
bottom surface 103 and a top surface 104 on which a pouring part
105 is mounted. Two lines of the outer surface 102 located
diametrically opposite each other are provided as folding lines
106. Running transversely thereto are a lower folding line 107 of
bead-type Construction and an upper folding line 108 of bead-type
construction; the lower folding line 107 bounds a lower portion 117
of the bottle and the upper folding line 100 bounds an upper
portion 116 of the bottle. In continuation of each of the folding
lines 106, the lower portion 117 of the bottle has two pairs of
folding lines 111, starting from a lower point 109 of intersection
and arranged in a V-shape, and the upper portion 118 of the bottle
has two pairs of folding lines 112 starting from an upper-point 110
of intersection and arranged in a V-shape. FIG. 13 shows a cross
section of an inwardly curved bead 114, corresponding to the bead
14 in FIG. 4, which forms the folding lines 107 and 108. FIG. 14
shows a cross section of an outwardly curved bead 113,
corresponding to the bead 13 in FIG. 5, as are constructed for the
folding lines 111 and 112 and, if appropriate, lines 106.
When this round bottle is folded, the procedure is the same as when
the rectangular bottle described above is folded. With the closure
open, the bottle is firstly folded flat and, subsequently, the
lower portion 111 and the upper portion 112 are folded or folded
over in such a way that they rest against the outer surface which
has been folded flat.
FIGS. 15 to 20 show a further, similar bottle, in which the central
portion has a cross section which is described as rectangular/oval,
which means that two opposite sides are formed by flat outer
surfaces 202a and the two other opposite sides are formed with
cylindrical surfaces, e.g. circular-cylindrical surfaces 202b.
The bottle has a bottom surface 203 with a standing surface 203a
and a curved surface 203b as well as a top surface 204 with a
pouring part 205. On the outer surfaces 202b, longitudinally
running lines 206 are provided as folding lines 106. Furthermore,
two pairs of folding lines 211, arranged in a V-shape, are arranged
on the lower portion 217, i.e. below a point 209 of intersection,
and two pairs of folding lines 212, arranged in a V-shape, are
arranged on the upper portion 218, i.e. above a point 210 of
intersection. The lower portion 217 is bounded by a transversely
running folding line 207 and the upper portion 216 by a
transversely running folding line 208. Likewise in this bottle, the
folding lines 207 and 208 are constructed according to FIG. 19 as
inwardly, curved beads 214 and the folding lines 211 and 212 as
well as the folding lines 206 (which, depending on the material
thickness, is not necessary) are constructed according to FIG. 29
as outwardly curved beads 213. Folding of this bottle takes place
in an analogous manner to the folding of the bottles already
described.
A further bottle is illustrated in FIGS. 21 to 27, whose central
portion has a so-called square/round cross section according to
FIGS. 24 to 26. This bottle has four outer surfaces 302 curved
slightly outward, a bottom surface 303 with a standing surface 303a
and a curved surface 303b as well as a top surface 304 with a
threaded pouring part 305 which is closed by a screw cap 305a
according to FIGS. 22 and 23. This bottle also has longitudinally
running folding lines 306 on opposite outer surfaces 302 and,
additionally, folding lines 311 arranged on the lower portion 317,
i.e. below a point 309 of intersection, and running in a V-shape,
and folding lines 312 arranged on the upper portion 316, i.e. above
a point 310 of intersection, and running in a V-shape. The lower
portion 317 is bounded by a transversely running folding line 307
and the upper portion 316 by a transversely running folding line
308. Essentially, all the folding lines are arranged and
constructed in the same manner as those of the bottles already
described.
According to FIG. 27, the bottle cross sections of the regions of
the central portion adjoining the folding lines are smaller, at
least on one part of the circumference, in the corner parts in the
present example, than the bottle cross sections of the regions of
the lower portion 317 or of the upper portion 316 adjoining the
folding lines, with the result being that, in that case, the upper
portion 316 and the lower portion 317 project beyond the central
portion. This shape is particularly suitable for mounting a label
or cover 318 which does not have to be stuck to the bottle and
which, if it consists of suitable material, such as cardboard or
rigid plastic, can serve as protection and assume a reinforcing
function in a given bottle design.
Although this possible design is described in this case with regard
to the exemplary embodiment of the bottle illustrated in FIGS. 21
to 27, it can also be used in a corresponding manner in bottles
with other cross sections.
Suitable material for the new bottles are plastics, such as
polypropylene, polyethylene, PET and PVC, but also metals, such as,
for example, aluminum and also composite materials.
Obviously, numerous modifications and variations of the present
invention are possible in light of the above teachings. It is
therefore to be understood that within the scope of the appended
claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as
specifically described herein.
* * * * *